Spiced Indian Takoyaki
Who would’ve thought, first week back on MasterChef Australia Back to Win in 2025 and this dish won me the challenge. And apparently, it made it into Gordon Ramsay’s new restaurant menu…….Sometimes it’s the strangest combination that pops into your head and ‘voi lah’, it' works! I wanted to combine two cultures, my husbands and mine, and two of my favourite snacks : South Indian Vadai X Japanese Takoyaki. Then pop a sweet prawn in the middle to give it that extra burst of flavour and texture.
You’ll need to pick up some speciality pans. They come in electric forms or just ones you pop over a gas stove. I use the latter, much more portable. Several cultures use similar versions to cook their own dishes. In India, it’s the paniyaram, in Japan, it’s takoyaki, in Thailand it’s kanom krok. Then in Denmark, it’s the Æbleskiver, “same same but different”. Check online.
Managing the heat is quite important, too low and it won’t crispen up, too high and it browns too quickly without cooking the inside. You’ll need to gauge how much oil you need as well for turning them nice and golden. I find any sharp skewers will help you turn the batter. Don’t worry that they look a bit scraggly, it’s all part of the process. As you keep turning, it will come right. The tip to get super nice round spheres is to make quarter turns and keep filling with batter until you get beautiful round balls. It’s a winner guys, I know you’ll love it!
MasterChef Australia Back to Win 2025
Ingredients
Batter
125g plain flour
1 tsp sea salt
¾ tsp raw sugar
¾ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp cumin seeds, toasted
¾ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp ground cardamom
375ml water
125ml coconut cream
1 egg, beaten
2-3 large hot green chillies
2 small Thai chillies
1 red medium onion
3 sprigs curry leaves, stem removed
1 spring onion
10g young ginger, peeled
Prawn Filling
4-5 large prawns, peeled, deveined, chopped into 7mm dice
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
pinch of salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp neutral flavoured oil
Mustard Seed and Curry Leaf Topping
2 tbsp neutral flavoured oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-4 sprigs curry leaves
1-2 large hot red chillies, sliced
Tamarind Sauce
110g jaggery, shaved
70g water
60g tamarind purée
¼ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp ground cumin
pinch of salt
Cucumber Raita
1 cup Greek yoghurt
½ Lebanese cucumber
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
1 tsp prepared Mustard Seed and Curry Leaf Topping
Method
For the Batter
Place the flour, salt, sugar and all the dried spices into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the water, coconut cream and egg.
Slowly add to the dry mixture, whisking until a smooth batter forms. Pass through a sieve. Taste and adjust with additional salt.
Finely dice the remaining ingredients and add to the batter. Stir well to combine. Transfer mixture to a jug.
For the Prawn Filling
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
For the Mustard Seed and Curry Leaf Topping
Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and cook until popping.
Add the curry leaves and chillies and toss until curry leaves are crispy and chillies start to blister. Set aside.
For the Tamarind Sauce
Place the jaggery and water in a saucepan.
Heat over medium heat until the sugar has melted.
Add the tamarind, spices and salt.
Stir and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until a jammy consistency.
Remove from heat, set aside in a serving bowl and allow to cool.
For the Cucumber Raita
Grate the cucumber into a bowl lined with a clean tea-towel.
Squeeze to remove excess moisture. Discard the liquid.
Place the cucumber into the bowl with yoghurt, salt and sugar. Mix to combine.
Place in a serving bowl and garnish prepared topping.
Set aside in the fridge until required.
To cook
Preheat the seasoned takoyaki pan over medium heat. Oil the holes generously.
When hot, fill each hole with batter, including a proportion of the chunky pieces, allowing it to overflow onto the adjoining parts of the pan.
Pop a piece of prawn filling into each hole.
As the batter starts to cook, separate each takoyaki with a wooden skewer by running the skewer across the overflow batter on the pan.
Cook for approximately 5 minutes, until the bottoms start to become golden - the middle will still be wet.
Then, using a small silicon spatula or 2 wooden skewers, turn each takoyaki 90°, so it is on its side, push the overflow batter into the middle of the holes.
Add more batter into the gaps of each hole and cook a further 5 minutes, then turn again, exposing the golden bottom entirely. You should now have a proper sphere. If not, continue to top up with the chunky batter, turning to achieve a full sphere.
Reduce heat and continue to cook, turning a few times until the sphere is dark golden and cooked all the way through. Manage the heat well so that the inside batter cooks fully, without the outside burning. This will take another 10 minutes.
Serve immediately.
To Serve
Place the turmeric leaf on a plate. Arrange the takoyaki on the leaf and top with the topping.
Serve with tamarind sauce and cucumber raita.